A simple console-based Snake game written in modern C++.
This is a learning project created while transitioning from C#/Unity to C++ — part of my preparation for systems-level programming and game engine development.
🐍 Note: This is not a polished product — it's a study exercise to practice terminal I/O, memory management, and clean C++ architecture.
- Real-time keyboard input using raw terminal mode (
termios,fcntl) - ANSI escape sequences for screen clearing and cursor control
- Toroidal (wrap-around) game board
- Collision detection (self-collision only)
- Food generation in free cells
- Score tracking
Tested on macOS (Apple Silicon) and Linux. Windows (via WSL) should also work.
- CMake ≥ 3.10
- C++17-compatible compiler (e.g., clang++ or g++)
mkdir build
cd build
cmake ..
cmake --build ../SnakeGame💡 The executable is named SnakeGame (as defined by your CMake project name).
- WASD — change snake direction
- Q — quit immediately
This project contains intentional and unintentional imperfections that reflect my current learning stage:
🔄 Input handling: pollKey() temporarily reconfigures terminal settings — this may interfere with raw mode stability. (Planned fix: manage terminal state once in constructor/destructor only.) 🕹️ Game loop logic: Movement and food collision checks are slightly out of order — may cause one-frame lag in growth. 🐛 Snake growth: Uses a fragile "append behind tail" method instead of a cleaner grow flag. 📦 Headers: Some use using namespace std; — will be removed in future refactors.
MIT — feel free to learn from it!